Chapter Eight: The Auction House Was Worth the Visit

“Damn, thank goodness—all that effort these days wasn’t for nothing. If I couldn’t even use the jade slip, I’d be the laughingstock of the town,” Tang Yi cursed inwardly.

It turned out that while he’d been helping Zhang Qiang speed up his cultivation, Tang Yi had also been studying the various cultivation techniques, searching for the one most suited to himself. Even before the auction, he’d bought a whole heap of cheap, worthless cultivation manuals. While Zhang Qiang threw himself into training, Tang Yi experimented with and compared the characteristics of each technique over and over. In the end, he discovered that because he possessed too many superpowers, no matter which cultivation method he practiced, the spiritual energy it produced would only effectively enhance the corresponding superpower. Only the attribute-less technique he’d begun with could boost the power of all his abilities.

So Tang Yi decided to stick with the attribute-less technique. However, this method could only be cultivated up to the early Foundation Establishment stage and had no advanced follow-up. Thus, over the course of some fifty years, applying every ounce of grit he possessed, Tang Yi succeeded in creating the first-ever supreme-grade trash cultivation technique in the world of cultivators: “The Spiritual Energy Method for Superpowers”—a name he coined himself.

He developed this technique by combining Serra’s comprehension superpower with the spiritual energy application method he’d invented previously to solve the energy issue for superpowers. Its principle was to treat the body as a container, storing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within. In this state, the energy underwent no qualitative transformation. But this was a risky business. To illustrate, storing spiritual energy this way was akin to turning one’s body into a propane tank, and the energy itself into liquid gas. If the tank ruptured and met a spark, the result would be a violent explosion—certain death. Ordinary cultivators, when drawing in spiritual energy, would refine it with their technique, allowing the energy to harmonize with their body’s constitution, maximizing the technique’s efficacy and avoiding such dangers.

Although this method had significant limitations—being suitable only for cultivators with superpowers—when Tang Yi left it behind in the mortal world before his ascension to the Celestial Realm, it quickly gained a following among superpowered cultivators. Later, a genius cultivator even devised a companion technique called “Indestructible Diamond Body” to address its flaws. But that is a story for another time.

After creating his technique, Tang Yi devoted himself to cultivation. By the time Zhang Qiang emerged from seclusion in the early Spirit Silence stage, Tang Yi had reached the early Fusion stage with his own method. However, to others, he still appeared to be at the early Foundation Establishment level. Not that it mattered—no one could ever make sense of his cultivation level anyway. Anyone with a bit of sense would steer clear of someone as unpredictable as Tang Yi. Of course, there were always a few fools.

The team heading to the battlefield was given ten days of rest in Moon City. Today was the sixth day. On Tang Yi’s second day in the city, Liu Mingde had sought him out. Tang Yi was overjoyed—another superpowered individual had been drawn into his orbit. What’s more, Liu Mingde’s ability was quite unique: making objects emit light. Anything, whether a person or even a pile of dung, could be made to glow in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, or violet—the full spectrum of a rainbow. At the beginner level, the ability already produced seven colors, but in Tang Yi’s hands, it could now emit thirty-eight different hues. It might seem useless, but in the right circumstances, this power could prove invaluable.

Tang Yi’s hair had long grown out; he wore it in the same style as everyone else. Dressed in a white robe with a light blue sleeveless coat over it, he fancied himself quite the sight, sauntering down one of Moon City’s main streets with his hands clasped behind his back. Zhang Qiang and Liu Mingde trailed at his left and right. To anyone watching, Tang Yi looked every bit the young landlord, off to wreak havoc among the city’s innocent maidens.

“Here, take these—one each,” Tang Yi said, tossing two rings to Zhang Qiang and Liu Mingde. “These are my masterpieces from the past few days. Consider them your wages for the past few years.”

“Thank you, Brother Tang!” The two thanked him and immediately pricked their fingers to bind the rings.

“Wow—Brother Tang, this storage ring is huge! I could fit a whole Mount Tai in here!” Liu Mingde exclaimed.

“Of course! Who do you think made it? Check the inscription on the ring,” Tang Yi replied smugly.

“‘Crafted by Tang Yi—Only the Best!’” Zhang Qiang read aloud. “Brother Tang, you’re a genius!”

“Naturally! If your Brother Tang isn’t a genius, then who is? Right, Brother Tang?” Liu Mingde chimed in. “You’re way too good to us. If you put these rings up for sale at That’s-the-Spot in Moon City, I guarantee they’d fetch a fortune.” Liu Mingde knew Moon City inside out, so he made the suggestion.

“Is that so? Does Moon City have an auction house?” Tang Yi asked.

“Auction house? Brother Tang, you’re too sharp! Items auctioned off fetch much higher prices than those sold to shops. See that odd little building ahead? That’s Not-Coming-Back, the largest and only auction house in the eastern district of Moon City,” Liu Mingde explained.

“Not-Coming-Back? What a strange name! Geez, it’s night here now. Mingde, use the superpower I taught you two days ago—light up these buildings for me. Use white light, but not too harsh,” Tang Yi ordered.

“No problem, watch this!” Liu Mingde pressed a palm to the nearest wall and activated his power. The houses along the street lit up one by one, glowing with soft white light—bright but not glaring. The sight drew gasps from passersby, followed by thunderous applause and cheers.

Liu Mingde repeated the process for the buildings across the street.

“All done, Brother Tang. This time, I guarantee the lights will last a full day and night,” Liu Mingde reported.

“Excellent. Let’s go to the auction house,” Tang Yi nodded approvingly.

Not-Coming-Back Auction House was built entirely from large blue stone blocks, just like the other buildings, but its exterior decorations were bizarre. The stone walls were festooned with bas-relief ornaments—on closer inspection, one could see these were all weapons, equipment, and magical artifacts. The cluttered arrangement made for a most peculiar sight.

When the three entered, the interior was much the same as any other building.

“Welcome, esteemed guests. Are you here to consign items for sale? If you’re here to buy, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow—tomorrow is our monthly auction!” said a manager-like fellow as Tang Yi and his companions approached the counter.

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